The University of Mary Washington women's basketball team dropped an 81-76 decision at Salisbury University on Wednesday evening in Salisbury, Md. The Eagles slip to 17-8 on the season.

The Eagles stormed ahead in the contest, starting on an 11-0 run to start the game. Sophomore Keagan Schwab started the run with the first five points for UMW. Salisbury closed the period with a 9-2 run to draw to within 15-12 after one quarter.

Salisbury quickly gained the lead in the second quarter, and used a 10-4 run to expand its lead to five, at 26-21, with 4:52 left before halftime. The Eagles stormed back with seven straight points to retake the lead, led by a Bri Harper three pointer, and held a 34-31 lead at intermission.

The teams battled back and forth to open the third quarter, exchanging the first 11 baskets of the frame. Salisbury regained the lead at 46-45 on a layup with 4:24 left, but Harper added a nother three to put UMW back on top. A 9-2 Salisbury run gave them a 55-50 lead with 1:09 remaining in the third, but a Tory Martin basket capped the scoring to send the Eagles to the fourth trailing by three.

The teams opened the fourth exchanging three point plays, with Elizabeth Dufrane recording a traditional three point play, before Salisbury scored the next five points. UMW again battled back, scoring the next six points, led by four from Jordan Carpenter, to draw to within two points, at 63-61. A Harper three with 4:00 left drew UMW to within three, at 68-65, and another with 2:13 to go to pull the Eagles to within 72-70. 

Harper continued to shine with another triple with 52 seconds left to cut the deficit to one, but Salisbury would score six of the last eight points for the five point win.

Harper and Carpenter led UMW with 18 points each, and Carpenter led with 12 rebounds. Schwab had 13 points and Tory Martin 10 for the Eagles.

The Eagles shot a blistering 56% from the field (28-50), making 6-15 three point attempts, and 14-21 free throws. Salisbury shot 58.7% (27-46), making 5-8 three point attempts and 22-37 free throws.

UMW will advance to the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference Tournament next weekend in Santa Cruz, Cal. Seeding will be announced on Monday.